Kimchi Style Sauerkraut

FERMENTATION LENGTH: 1-4 weeks

Why I love this recipe. It connects me to cultures around the world where traditionally fermented foods
are still a part of their everyday lifestyle.

For a PDF version of this recipe, including Gourmet Pairing Options, scroll to the end of this post.

Course Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Sauerkraut, Snack

Cuisine Fermented, Paleo, Primal, Vegan

Prep Time 30 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 28 - 1 ounce (30 grams)

Calories 7 kcal
Author Holly Howe

You Will Need

Ingredients
1 medium head fresh green cabbage, 2 ½–3 pounds
1-2 carrots
1 bunch green onions
1 large radish (watermelon is nice) or bunch small red radish
(You want about 1/2 cup grated radish)
1 -inch knob fresh ginger
2-3 cloves garlic
1-2 teaspoons Gochugaru (Korean red pepper powder) or substitute red pepper flakes (1/2-1 tsp)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) salt iodine-free salt (fine-grained)
Equipment
Kitchen scale
Cutting board and chef’s knife
Large mixing bowl
Vegetable peeler and grater
Quart (liter) wide-mouth canning jar
4 ounce (125 ml) “jelly” canning jar or other "weight"
Wide-mouth plastic storage cap (or lid and rim that comes with jar)

Instructions
1. SET UP. Gather Supplies and Set Up Scale
Using a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients is THE secret for delicious sauerkraut... batch after batch.
My favorite scale is discussed here.
You don’t want to include the weight of your bowl in your measurements, so either zero out the
scale (usually done with a button on a digital scale or a knob under the tray on a mechanical scale) or
write down the tare (bowl) weight.
2. CHOP. Prep Your Vegetables and Cabbage
When making sauerkraut, you first prepare the flavoring ingredients – carrots, ginger, radish, caraway
seeds or whatnot – then add sliced cabbage. This allows you to add only as much sliced cabbage as
necessary to hit 1¾ pounds (28 ounces, 800 grams) on the scale, the amount that fits perfectly - usually -
into a 1-quart (liter) jar.
Grate carrots and radish, thinly slice green onions, grate ginger and mince garlic, placing
everything, along with the red pepper flakes or Korean red pepper, in your bowl. NOTE: If you're
concerned about the "hot" nature of the red pepper on your bare hands, either wear gloves or quickly
mix it in right before packing your jar.
Discard the dirty or limp outer leaves of your cabbage, setting aside one of the cleaner leaves for use
during the SUBMERGE step.
Quarter, then slice cabbage crosswise into thin ribbons. I leave the core in because I find it helps to
hold the layers of cabbage together making the slicing job easier.
Add sliced cabbage to your bowl until the weight of your vegetables and cabbage is 1¾ pounds (28
ounces, 800 grams).
3. SALT. Create Your Brine
Salt pulls water out of the cabbage and vegetables to create an environment where the good bacteria
(mainly lactobacillus) can grow and proliferate and the bad bacteria die off. You really do need salt to
make sauerkraut.
Sprinkle vegetables and cabbage with 1 tablespoon of salt and mix well. 
Then, massage the vegetables with strong hands until moist, creating the brine. You should be able
to tilt the bowl to the side and see a good-sized puddle of brine, about 2–3 inches in diameter. This
process can take anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes. Notice how the mixture has shrunk. Due to the hot
nature of the red pepper, wash hands wells after. 
4. PACK. Pack Mixture into Jar
Once you notice a small puddle of brine in the bottom of your bowl (you may need to tilt it to one side to
see it), it is time to pack the moist mixture into your jar. See my article on dry sauerkraut if you're having
difficulty creating enough brine.
Grab handfuls of the salty, juicy cabbage mixture and pack them into your quart-sized (liter) wide-
mouth canning jar, periodically pressing the mixture down tightly with your fist or a large spoon so
that the brine rises above the top of the mixture and no air pockets remain.
Be sure to leave at least 1 inch of space between the top of the cabbage and the top of the jar. Because
we weighed out just the right amount of cabbage to fit in your jar, this should happen automatically.
Pour any brine left in your mixing bowl into the jar and scrape out any loose bits stuck to the sides
of the bowl or to the sides of your jar.
5. SUBMERGE. Hold Ferment Below Brine
Now make sure your fermenting mixture is in a safe anaerobic (no air) environment. This means that
you need to keep the cabbage mixture submerged in the brine while it ferments.
Take that cabbage leaf you saved during the SETUP step, tear it down to just fit in the jar, and place
it on the surface of the packed cabbage. Forgot to save a cabbage leaf? No problem. You can fold a
narrow piece of parchment paper to size or even cut an old plastic lid to size. 
Place the 4-ounce jelly jar (or preferred weight) on top of the cabbage leaf, right side up with its lid
removed. (Here I'm using the weight included with the Ferment'n fermentation lid.)
Lightly (to allow for escape of CO2 gases), screw on the white plastic storage lid or airlock of your
choice, following their directions.
I like to label my jars using green or blue painter’s tape and a permanent marker. I note the flavor of
sauerkraut I made and the date I started fermenting.
For this recipe, I used the Ferment'n water-sealed fermentation lid. It comes with a weight, the
water trough you hold in place with a metal canning band and the lid.  
6. FERMENT. Ferment for 1 to 4 Weeks
Time now for the friendly bacteria to do their work while you watch and wait. Can you wait 7 days to
taste the tangy crunch?
Place your jar of fermenting sauerkraut in a shallow bowl (to catch the brine that may leak out
during the first week of fermentation), out of direct sunlight. Wait for 1 week before opening to
sample.
For what to expect as your sauerkraut ferments, see SALTY Cabbage to SOUR Sauerkraut:
Fermentation Signs to Monitor
Should the brine level fall (very unlikely) and remain below the level of the sauerkraut during this
first week, 
dilute 1 Tbsp of salt in 2 cups of water 
and pour some of this brine over the sauerkraut (removing the little jar first) until it just covers the
mixture. Put the little jar back in, screw the lid on lightly and let the fermentation continue.
Don’t worry if the brine disappears after the 7- to 10-day mark. By this time, you’ve created a safe
environment in which the bacteria that would cause mold or slime has been chased away by the
beneficial bacteria produced during the fermentation process.
You can ferment your sauerkraut for up to 4 weeks. The longer you ferment it, the greater the number
and variety of beneficial bacteria that can be produced.
7. STORE. Store in Refrigerator for Up to 1 Year
After fermenting your sauerkraut, it’s ready to go into the refrigerator and ready to be eaten.
Rinse off the outside of the jar. You can take the little jar out. Clean the rim if necessary (sometimes
it can get sticky from the brine that overflows), and screw the lid back on tightly. Add to your label
how long you fermented the contents.
Enjoy a forkful or two of your sauerkraut with your meals. It will continue to ferment – aging like a
fine wine – but at a much slower rate than before. If the flavors are too intense, leave it the jar for a
month or two and then eat it. You will be amazed at how the flavors have changed.
If successfully fermented (tastes and smells good), your sauerkraut can be kept preserved in your
refrigerator for up to a year.

This recipe developed by Holly Howe of MakeSauerkraut! (http://www.makesauerkraut.com/)